OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Secretary General praise work by field operations in Ukraine

WARSAW/VIENNA, 31 October 2022 – Following the lack of consensus by the OSCE Permanent Council to extend the mandates of the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) and the Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, due to the position of the Russian Federation, the OSCE is closing these two field operations today. 

OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, and the OSCE Secretary General, Helga Maria Schmid today underscored the importance of the field missions and their imperative contributions to OSCE’s efforts to support Ukraine. They also stated that securing the release of the three former SMM staff members, who continue to be unjustifiably held in Donetsk and Luhansk, remains a priority for the OSCE. 

“Both field operations have been a vital part of our efforts to support Ukraine and have played a crucial role by assisting and advising on internal reforms, providing objective information, facilitating dialogue where none existed, and working relentlessly for the benefit of people of Ukraine in the most challenging of environments,” Chairman Rau said.

“While we regret that no consensus could be reached on the extension of their mandates due to the position of the Russian Federation, there should be no doubt - the closure will not affect our determination to secure the release of the OSCE officials who remain unjustifiably detained. Our officials should be released immediately and without any preconditions,” he stressed.

Secretary General Schmid added: “I want to sincerely thank all the staff who served in both missions for their years of service and dedication. I cannot stress enough how impressed I am with their commitment and professionalism, and I am proud of what they have accomplished. The two field operations’ contributions to OSCE’s support to Ukraine have been nothing short of extraordinary”.

“I also want to reiterate that we will continue to work day and night for the release of our detained officials who have been held unjustifiably and in unknown conditions for over six months now”, she said. 

The closure of the OSCE field operations in Ukraine was announced by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Zbigniew Rau and OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid on 28 April and 30 June respectively, following the Russian Federation’s refusal to join consensus on the extension of their mandates.

Three members of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine have been detained in Donetsk and Luhansk for over six months.

On 19 September 2022, OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, and OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid issued a joint statement condemning the “sentencing” of OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) mission members Maxim Petrov and Dmytro Shabanov and reiterated their call for the immediate and unconditional release of all three OSCE mission members in detention.

Three more mission members were detained after Russia launched its war against Ukraine on 24 February but have since been released.